Fire-escape.



J. P. MILLER.

FIRE ESCAPE. APPLICATION FILED JULY19, 1911.

1,059,062. Patented Apr.15, 1913. I

2 BHEETS-BHEET 1.

J. F. MILLER.

FIRE ESCAPE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 19, 1911;

1,059,062. I Patented Apr. 15, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

v with cylindrical chutes extending from a,

i the flexible or fioors,the windows,

JOHN F. MILLER, or BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

To all whom it may concern Be itknown that I, JOHN. F.

MILLER, a citizen of the United States,

residing at Baltimore, in the. State of Maryland, have invented certain-new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in fire escapes and has reference to that class of fire escapes wherein a plurality of platforms or balconies are provided on the exterior of a building,-one above another .platform above toward a platform beneath it.

The invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of devices hereinafter described and.part-icularly pointed out in the claim.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention wherein,

Figure l, shows'a front elevation of the outside of a wall of abuilding comprising a plurality of floors and with my improved fire escape in place on said wal l. Fig. 2, shows an enlarged vertical long1tud1- nal section through one of the cylindrical chutes constructed in accordance with my: invention. Fig. 3, shows an enlargedelevation of the same. Fig. 4, illustrates the cylindrical chute in cross section,-the section being taken on the-line 44 of Fig. 2, and 'Fig- 5, shows. an enlarged sectional. deta1l through the.upperport1on of one of the chutes and illustrates the construction. of yielding vertical interiorwall thereof.

Referring to the drawings, and particu-.

larly Fig. 1, thereof it will be noted-that the front wall, 1, of'the building is shown .1n the present instance as, having three 2,-being located on the first floor; window, 3, on the second floor and window, 4, on thethird floor, but obviously, the particular number. -of. floors is immaterial and may be more or less than shown. A platform or balcony is provided on the outside of thewall beneath or adjacent to each window and said platforms may be secured in place'by any suitable means. The uppermost platform, 5, on the wall of the building .is provided with a cylindrical chute, 6, whose lower end, 7, ,depends from the said platforrh and extends toward the platform, 8', beneath it. This chute may be sustained in any suitable man- Speeification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 19, 1911.

. cured to a cap,

lower" ends thereof and these PatentedApr.15,1913. Serial No. 639,307.

ner,such for example as by wall brackets, 9,

by which it may be rigidly secured in place. The chute has an upper end, 10-, that extends above the platform, 5, and which is closed on top by the wall, 11,. curving upwardly from one side to the other. This upper end of the chute is also provided at one vertical side with an opening,,1'2, which extends upwardly from the platform and is of suflicient height to permit a person to enter the chute from the platform. A central rod, 13, extends from the upper end of the chute down to the'platform, 8, beneath it, to which latter the lower end of said rod is secured. The upper end of the rod is held rigidly in a suitable'way for example by extending it through the curved wall, 11, and then in so as to project it toward the wall where it may be retained in a socket, 16. -The rod, 13, is a slide rod and is still and rigid to enable a person to twine his legs about it effectively when sliding down. At diametrically opposite sides, the wall of the chute, 6, is provided with vertical slots, 17, which communicate with vertically-extending tubes, 18, on the exterior 'of the chute. These tubes, 18, project above the opening, 12, in the sides of the chute and each of them carries a coiled spring, 19, at. the upper end. One end of .the spring, 19, is se- 20, on the upper end of the tube while the lower end thereof is r0- vided with a short chain which pro ects through the slot, 17, in the chute wall and carries ahand-grasp or link, 21. Below the opening, 12, the interior of the chute, 6, is provided with an annular hoop or ring, 22, see Fig. 5, which is riveted or otherwise secured to the Wall of the chute by means of suitable fastenings, 23. 'A plurality of corrugated met-a1 strips, 24, have hooks, 25, at their upper ends which engage the hoops or rings, 22, and said strips extend vertically downward within the chute and have their lower ends rigidly secured to a ring or hoop, 26, at lower end of the chute. These metal strips are preferably slightly spaced from each other as shown in the cross-sectional view in Fig. 4, of the drawing. Suitable spring plates, 27, are, secured to the metal strips atintervals between'the upper and plates being interposed between the strips and the inner surface of the chute wall tend'to yieldingly press the strips inwardly and away from providing a lateral turn, 15-, therethe chute wall for a purpose presently to be described.

A tubular covering of suitable flexible material, 28, is passed through the chute so as to cover the various vertical strips and spring-plates, 27, and thus produce in the chute and around the rigid rod, 13, a tube that will expand and contract. The tubular covering is provided with two vertical slots, 29, whose position coincides with the two slots, 17, in the cylindric chute; through each slot will project into the interior of the chute a link of one of the chains before mentioned, and the hand-link, 21, attached thereto will thus be on the interior of the chute-lining, 28. This construction insures that the hand-links, 21, will be accessible to the hands of a person who may be descending the chute.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the chute has a central rod with an elastic friction tube in the chute between the rod.

and thechute-WalI.

By referenoe'to Fig. 1, it will be noted that the chute, 6, does not extend in the present instance to the platform,.8, but that the rod does extend to said platform. The

object of this is 'to enable a person to pass through the chuteand be free thereof when landing on the platformbelow, so that ready escape from beneath the lower open end of the chute may be made. Upon landing' at one end of the platform, 8, a person may step across the platform. to the other end and enter the 'chute that depends therefrom and so. escape from one floor to another until the ground is reached. -Upon entering a chute .the person may grasp the hand-grasp or link, 21, with one hand and twine the legs about the rod, and as the descent is made the persons body will pass through the inner elastic tube which will expand but will press close about the body and retard its descent. The link or hand grasp, 21, will also serve as a brake in that as the body descends the spring, 19, will stretch and as the body approaches the lower end of the chute the gradually increased back pull of the spring will be suffi'cient to bring the body to a gradual stop and thus prevent injury as the platform is reached. Obviously, when the link is released the spring, 19, will draw it upwardly toward the top of the chute for use by another person.

By providing the curved wall, 11, at the upper end persons escaping through the chute will be protected from falling debris which will be deflected.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,-

In a fire-escape the combination of a tubular chute down through which a person may pass; a tube extending parallel with the. chute and having a slot which communicates with the interior of the chute; a coiled spring in said tube and extensible longitudinally thereof and the upper end of the spring being fastened; and a hand-link carried at the lower end of the said spring and movable up and down within the chute.

I In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' JOHN F. MILLER.

Witnesses:

CHARLES B. MANN, Jr., G. Faun. VOG'r. 

